Palma de Mallorca

Yes — La Seu is one of the great Gothic cathedrals of the Mediterranean, with a Gaudí-restored interior, the world's largest cathedral rose window, and a Miquel Barceló ceramic chapel that looks like a wave breaking in clay. Adult entry is €10 online (children under 9 free), and tickets are timed — book a slot before you sail rather than queueing in the square. Open Monday–Friday 10:00–17:15, Saturday 10:00–14:15 in main season (April–October); closed Sunday to tourists. Plan 60–90 minutes inside.

If you like trains, yes — and even if you don't, the ride is the point. The 1912 wooden train runs 27 km from Plaça d'Espanya in central Palma over the Serra de Tramuntana through citrus groves and a string of tunnels to Sóller, about an hour each way. Round-trip is €30 (train only); a train-plus-tram combo to Port de Sóller runs €35. The Plaça d'Espanya station is a 15-minute walk from the cruise port, or a €10 taxi. Total commitment is 4–5 hours including a short lunch in Sóller — feasible on a 9-hour port day, tight on shorter calls.

Technically yes; sensibly no. Formentor is on the far north tip of Mallorca, roughly 90 minutes to two hours each way from Palma by car or coach, plus a winding mountain road that is closed to private vehicles in peak summer (mid-June through mid-September). That's four hours of driving for a viewpoint and a beach. If your ship is in for 12+ hours and you absolutely must, take a ship-sponsored excursion (€90–130) so the bus doesn't leave without you. For a shorter scenic interior day, Valldemossa (40 minutes) and the Tramuntana villages are the smarter pick.

Palma is broadly safe — Spain sits at US State Department Travel Advisory Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) and violent crime against tourists is rare. The realistic risk is pickpocketing in the cathedral square, the Passeig des Born promenade, around La Almudaina, and on the EMT bus into town from the port. Standard rules: front pocket, daypack worn in front in crowds, no phone on the cafe table. Police presence around the cathedral is visible. Solo evening walking in Old Town is fine for most travelers; the bar district around La Lonja gets busy after 22:00 but isn't sketchy.

Mostly in your favor. Since 2022 the city limits port calls to three cruise ships per day with a maximum of one mega-ship over 5,000 passengers. In practice that means the cathedral square and Old Town are noticeably less mobbed than Barcelona or Civitavecchia on a peak Mediterranean weekday — though it doesn't help if your own ship is the mega-ship that day. The cap is enforced by the Balearic port authority via the cruise scheduling calendar, so by the time you've booked, your day is already inside the limit. No action needed on your end.